


Bread and Butter

by her_majesty_wears_jeans



Series: Outside the (Ask) Box [7]
Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: Could Be Canon, F/M, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-11-24 10:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20906075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/her_majesty_wears_jeans/pseuds/her_majesty_wears_jeans
Summary: Henry has taken it to himself to make sure Elizabeth eats, but when she starts as Secretary of State, he worries he can't do that anymore.





	Bread and Butter

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "Just make sure you've eaten."

One of the first things Henry McCord learns about Elizabeth Adams is that food is high on the list of things she loves. He also learns quickly that, unlike anything else she holds dear, food is something Elizabeth completely forgets about when stressed or focused – he doesn’t know how that works exactly, but he finds it cute. Years later, Henry can happily and confidently rank himself higher on that list than popcorn or cake, so he takes it to himself to ensure Elizabeth eats, from cooking his girlfriend Ramen in a college-dorm coffee pot during finals week to taking his wife out on a fancy dinner after they finish grading term papers.

Because of all that, when Elizabeth lets Jason hog the scones at breakfast, taking a couple of sips of coffee clearly only in order to please Henry before shooting out of the front door, Henry knows his wife is nervous about her first day as the newly-appointed Secretary of State. After rinsing off her plate, Alison passes Henry with only a quick peek out of the window over his shoulder to where her mom rides off in her motorcade. Her silence is potent.

The kids aren’t happy with the move, that much would be evident even without the several arguments over the issue. Henry hopes Elizabeth was too busy to think about it that morning since although he sympathizes with his kids, he also wishes they wouldn’t cause their mom additional stress. A new job is plenty enough.

Henry knows his wife can hold her own, he’s seen her do it twice already; first conquering the world of espionage at CIA and then the world of academics at UVA. But now she should be conquering, well, the actual world. So yeah, he’s a little anxious on her behalf. He knows how her colleagues will perceive her. She’s inexperienced, idealistic, young, and a woman. She’ll win over anyone with a half-functioning brain, but it might take some time. In the meanwhile, she’ll fit the Washington standards of a dumb blonde to a tee.

His assumptions aren’t incorrect. He soon hears about Elizabeth’s chief of staff whose eyes Elizabeth swears would’ve stuck in the back of her head by now if she hadn’t perfected the art of pursing her lips instead to let her boss know when she disagreed with her, of the White House chief of staff who has all but appointed himself the Kerberos to the gates of the Oval Office, and of all the other members of Dalton’s and Elizabeth’s staffs who haven’t bothered covering up how unworthy of late Secretary Marsh’s title they find her.

Exasperated with their coarse behavior, Henry makes an effort to check in with Elizabeth more frequently than usual during her days, to make sure she’s handling it as well as to remind her she has people in her corner. He feels better when her texts grow shorter as the months pass, hoping it means she grows more comfortable with the people she works with. He’s proved right one Tuesday night when Elizabeth’s text interrupts his setting the table for dinner.

** _Babe, swamped with work. Don’t wait up, xo._ **

** _Okay. Just make sure you’ve eaten._ **

** _Already did, Blake refused to leave before I finished my salad. Btw, does that count as loyalty or insubordination?_ **

Henry sends an emoji that’s laughing as hard as he is, pocketing his phone when Alison and Jason barge downstairs. He doesn’t answer Elizabeth’s question, because he’s sure she knows the answer herself. He hadn’t thought he could be happy to be replaced, but the smile on his face hasn’t been wider in weeks.


End file.
